From the pages of Free State Page 3 - a glamor journal published in the Bombay Free State

Deepshikha's new look

by Mr. A_B

If you chance to see a woman in burqa going around the markets of Bhopal, you just might have seen none other than TV star Deepshikha Singh.

Deepshikha Singh has recently bagged the lead role in upcoming tv serial "Bandish" based on the movie of the same name made by director Ravi Bhatnagar. The story traces the life of Nur, a muslim girl and her struggle against restrictive purdah customs. Ravi Bhatnagar is also said to direct the tv show, being produced by Ekta productions.

To prepare for her role, she is said to have started to live as much under purdah in her real life as she would be in her reel life. Of course, coming from a rajput background, she is no stranger to certain aspects of purdah. "At my home, I have grown up seeing my mother being veiled most of the time. I myself usually used to veil when out, so it wasn't entirely difficult for me to get used to the niqab," she explained.

Getting used to 'voice modesty' however was an entirely different ballgame. "I have rarely ever been gagged like this. Occasionally I'd put a tape on my mouth when going to certain occasions, but the way the girls in purdah are put in bondage was very difficult. I have been excersicing voice modesty when outside as much as I can, but it is incredibly difficult. I can only imagine how the girls go through this, but the director, Ravi ji has been a great help through it all."

The show will go on air from 1st of November, and will have an initial run of 100 episodes.

{The name of the director and production house is altered. Deepshikha Singh is a real person shown in the picture below wearing a niqab and abaya when out.}